Friday, April 24, 2009

Fair weather


I placed all of our tomato, lettuce, basil, parsley and broccoli outside today so that they can have a taste of real sunshine and the gentle breeze. Hopefully, we will get everything except the tomatoes, basil and morning glories planted out this weekend.

Yesterday, I visited the Cornell Plantations in Ithaca with my eldest daughter. Our favorite spot was the rhododendron garden built on a large round hill with several benches and hidden spaces to sit and enjoy nature. The smell of the pine mulch and beautiful surroundings brought back memories of walking in Sequoia National Park with my grandmother. I told my daughter that her great-grandmother would tell us to breathe the fragrance of the forest deeply through our noses and exhale through our mouths.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New arrivals

We have lettuce, carrots and beets sprouting in the first garden frame. We planted those by seed on March 29. About 10% of the peas have sprouted as well. The weatherman is calling for temps in the 70's this weekend which should cause a surge in growth. The morning glories are about four feet tall in the house. We definitely need to start those later next year...

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Lilac Bush and the Apple Tree

We spent the weekend cleaning up the yard and moving wood piles. Not much to say except that the forsythia, violets and vinca are blooming in the yard, the deep red peonies are beginning to unfurl their leaves and the lilac and apple trees are showing their first green leaves -- which reminds me of one of my favorite songs. It was a nice sunny weekend, soon to be followed by cold and rain. Good for the rain, the ground was beginning to look parched.

The Lilac Bush and the Apple Tree
by Kate Wolf

The Lilac Bush and the Apple Tree
Were standing in the wood
Out on a hill above the town
Where once a farmhouse stood

And in the winter the leaves are bare
And no one sees the signs
Of a house that stood and a garden that grew
And life in another time

One spring when the buds came bursting forth
And grass grew on the land
The Lilac spoke to the Apple Tree
As only an old friend can

Do you think said the Lilac this might be the year
When someone will build here once more
Here by the cellar still open and deep
There's room for new walls and a floor

Oh no, said the Apple there are so few
Who come here on the mountain this way
And when they do, they don't often see
Why we're growing here so far away

A long time ago we were planted by hands
That worked in the mines and the mills
When the country was young and the people who came
Built their homes in the hills

But now there are cities the roads have come
And no one lives here today
And the only sign of the farms in the hills
Are the things not carried away

Broken dishes, piles of boards,
A tin plate, an old leather shoe
And an Apple Tree still bending down
And a Lilac where a garden once grew

Friday, April 17, 2009

Last Frost Date


The average last frost date for our area is quickly approaching. Using data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center, I put together a chart which can help assess the risk of frost after a given date. The chart shows the frequency of the last frost date since 1939. It looks like the odds are in our favor Saturday, May 2, though it still may be necessary to protect frost-sensitive plants after that date depending on the forecast. I may try planting out some tomatoes in wall-o-waters on May 2 just to see how they do.